Bedridden and Blessed
by alyells
Summary: ONESHOT; When Maria falls ill, the children do their best to get her better as soon as possible. A cute, fluffy Maria and the children fic, with a little MR/GVT near the end. Enjoy, R&R!


**Bedridden and Blessed**

The sun hadn't even considering coming up when Maria Rainer woke with a start, finding herself in a tangle of blankets on the floor beside her bed. She sat up and blinked a few times, wondering how she got where she was. She quickly unraveled herself from the sheets and stood up, swaying slightly on her feet as she did so. She clutched the post of the bed to steady her, and wiped her brow.

Still unsteady on her feet, she tossed the sheets back on the bed. The door opened behind her and Marta and Gretl's heads poked through the crack.

'Good morning, Fraulein Maria,' squeaked Marta. Gretl beamed and the two squeezed into the room.

'Good morning, Marta, Gretl,' said Maria, sitting back down on the unmade bed.

Having a knack for pointing out the obvious, Marta grinned and said, "Maria! You slept in!"

"How absolutely awful of me," Maria teased, poking the girl in the belly gently. "I'm so sorry!"

'It's alright! Fraulein,' Marta giggled, pointing to the bed, 'your bed isn't made!'

'I know,' said Maria, 'I haven't gotten around –' Maria paused and put her hands out on either side of her. Gretl and Marta exchanged worried looks. '_Achoo!_'

'Maria,' giggled Marta again, 'you just sneezed!'

'Why, yes I did,' said Maria.

'Bless you,' chimed Gretl.

'Thank you. Well now, I suppose we should go find the others! We have a lot to…To…To…_achoo!_" Maria sneezed again as she stood up, swaying and sitting back down immediately.

'God bless you,' said Marta, looking concerned.

'Thank you. Now, come along, let's go get some breakfast!' Maria took each child by the hand, and they marched out of the room together.

They found Louisa, Brigitta, Leisl, Fredrich and Kurt sitting in the kitchen with the sun spilling in through the open windows. Leisl was serving breakfast for eight; plates of toast and fresh fruit all around. Maria settled the two youngest into their seats and then sat down herself. She rested her head on her hands and sniffled.

'Fraulein Maria,' asked Kurt, 'are you crying?'

Maria looked up. 'No, not at all!' She smiled at him reassuringly, even though she felt so miserable she _could _cry. Then, she sneezed again.

'Bless you,' came a chorus of voice from around the table. Leisl stopped serving breakfast and gave Maria a quizzical look.

'Are you well?' asked Leisl.

'Yes, I'm per-per-per-_achoo!-_fectly fine, thank you, Leisl.' She looked around at the seven puzzled expressions, and clapped her hands once. 'But, I am rather hungry, wouldn't you all agree?' They all nodded. 'Well, dig in!'

Leisl laid the final bowl of strawberries on the table and settled into her own chair. The children began to eat slowly, casting distraught glances at Maria, looking away only when she caught their eye and smiled.

Maria, however, was feeling just as miserable as the children thought she was. After the empty dishes had been cleared from the table and Leisl and Louisa had washed up, they all set off to get dressed. Only Brigitta stayed with the sniffling governess.

'Are you feeling well, Maria?' she asked concernedly, laying a small hand on Maria's arm.

'Yes, I'm fine,' said Maria, standing out of her chair and loosing her footing. Her knees buckled and she slumped to the floor. Brigitta screamed and began to cry.

'Leisl, Fredrich,' she called desperately, 'Maria's ill! Help, someone! Help!'

A flurry of footsteps was heard on the stairs, and Leisl and Fredrich sprinted into the kitchen. Leisl was still pulling on one of her socks, and Fredrich slipped his arm into his shirt when they stopped abruptly.

'Maria!' cried Leisl, rushing to her side and helping her off the ground. Maria laid an arm around Leisl's shoulders, not quite able to support her own weight. 'You told me you weren't sick!'

'Well, I suppose I am,' Maria said weakly, as they stumbled out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. It seemed the staircase had tripled in size by the time they got to Maria's room. Fredrich and Brigitta trailed behind them, looking extremely worried.

'I think you should get back in bed,' Leisl said, straightening the sheets on the still unmade bed. Maria sat on the edge, looking dangerously near to toppling over again. She sneezed again.

'Bless you,' said Fredrich.

'No, no,' she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, drawing her head back up to look at her, 'I'll be okay, don't you worry about me! And thank you.'

Gretl, Louisa, Kurt and Marta had now joined Fredrich and Brigitta just inside the door.

'What's wrong with Maria?' Gretl asked Louisa, pulling on her skirt.

'Nothing,' Louisa said sharply, trying to mask her own fear. What _was _wrong with Maria? She was never sick!

After a few minutes of bickering between Leisl and Maria, the latter finally gave way to the spinning sensation in her head and lay back down on the pillows. Leisl shooed the scared-looking youngsters from Maria's room, insisting that 'she had to rest'.

'If you need anything,' Leisl said from the door, 'just call out and I'll be right up!'

'Thank you,' said Maria drowsily, and her eyes closed. She didn't even have the strength to stay awake.

*

Maria slept lightly, and when she awoke for the second time that morning, it was to a soft knock on the door. It opened with a small squeak, and Gretl came in without invitation, holding her hands behind her back. Maria rearranged her pillows and sat up. She was too miserable to smile warmly at the child.

'Maria,' said Gretl softly, 'Leisl told me not to come in, but I wanted to see you.'

Maria patted a spot on the bed next to her, and Gretl climbed up, barely shifting the bed under her slight weight. She took her hands from behind her back and produced a cloth doll with buttons for eyes and a poorly stitched mouth. The hair was yellow yarn that had been glued into place, and one of the arms was hanging off slightly, stuffing protruding from the loose seam.

'I brought Mae into see you,' she said cheerily, offering the doll to Maria. She took it from the child and held it in front of her.

'Well, Mae,' said Maria, 'how very nice of you to come visit me.'

'It was my idea,' Gretl defended, poking herself in the chest with her thumb.

Maria nodded. 'Of course it was! How silly of me. Thank you for bringing Mae into see me, Gretl.' Gretl beamed.

'You're welcome,' she said.

'Gretl,' Louisa's voice came from the bottom of the stairs. 'Leisl says come down and leave Maria alone! She needs to -'

'Rest,' said Gretl sulkily. She kissed Maria on the cheek and hopped off the bed.

'You forgot Mae,' said Maria kindly, holding the doll out to her.

'You keep her,' said Gretl, 'but only until you feel better.'

*

The rest of the morning passed without any more visitors. Maria dozed off and woke up frequently, sometimes too warm, sometimes too cold. She was having cold sweats and found it impossible to get comfortable. Around noon, another knock was heard at her bedroom door.

'Come in,' she called with a sniff.

The door opened and Kurt, Fredrich and Marta entered. The two boys were carrying a tray laden with fruit, bread and butter, and a variety of cheeses. Marta had a tea cup held gingerly, and as she walked, she stared intently at the tea, willing it not to tip.

'Don't look at the cup, Marta,' Maria said stuffily. 'Look ahead and it won't spill.'

Marta looked up and focused on the wall opposite her. When she made it, very slowly, to the side of the bed, she placed the cup on the bedside table and cheered victoriously.

'I did it,' she cried happily, turning around abruptly and walking straight into Kurt. The heavy tray slipped from his hands, and everything went all over the floor. Fredrich yelled angrily.

'Marta, you're so clumsy,' he bellowed. Kurt nodded and screamed, 'yes, Marta, good going!'

'I'm sorry,' she wailed, tears streaming her pretty face. 'I didn't mean it!'

'Now, now,' Maria said, sliding out of bed and crawling around on the floor, picking up the fruit and cheese. The boys got down and helped, casting furious looks at Marta, who stood by, crying. 'It's okay, Marta! Just an accident, nothing to worry about.'

They scurried around and picked up the mess. Marta sniffled by Maria's bed, and when she went to get back under the covers, she planted a kiss on Marta's head.

'I'm really s-sorry,' she whimpered. Maria waved her hands as if to brush off the incident. Kurt and Fredrich stood by, identical expressions of anger on their faces.

'Cheer up, you two,' Maria said, and blew her nose on a handkerchief.

'Leisl's going to be furious with us,' Kurt said glumly.

'She told us to bring you some dinner, because she didn't want you out of bed,' Fredrich added. 'Now you're going to be hungry!'

'No, I won't,' Maria said, but her stomach grumbled loudly and gave her away. Everyone laughed, even Marta through her tears. 'Well, maybe a little bit.'

'Would you like something else?' Kurt asked.

'Yes, please. How about a peanut butter sandwich?' Maria suggested.

'I'll get it,' Marta said, raising her hand in the air.

'No, I will,' Kurt said, sticking out his chest. 'It was _my_ idea!'

'You two will just drop it,' cried Fredrich. '_I'll_ get it.'

'How about you help each other get it?' Maria said over the din. 'Marta, you get out the bread. Fredrich, you put the peanut butter on, and Kurt can cut it in pieces.' They all nodded.

'Would you like triangles or squares?' asked Kurt.

'Surprise me,' Maria said with a smile. They hurried out of the room, and she could hear them bickering all the way down the stairs. Maria laughed to her self. She didn't even _like _peanut butter.

*

With the salty sweet taste of peanut butter still in her mouth, Maria sat up in bed and watched the birds fly outside her window. She figured it to be around two o'clock in the afternoon. It was stuffy and far too warm in her bedroom, even though she'd already opened both windows. There wasn't a breath of wind.

A sneeze tickled the inside of her nose, and she closed her eyes, bracing herself. She counted backwards from three, and took a deep breath. The force sent her head spinning, and she blinked furiously, eyes watering.

'Bless you,' a voice said from just inside the door. Louisa was standing against the wall with her arms folded across her chest, looking sulky.

'Thank you, Louisa.' Maria eyed her, focusing on her cross expression. 'What's the matter?'

'Nothin',' Louisa said unconvincingly. The door burst open, and Brigitta ran in.

'What are you doing hiding here,' she cried, exasperated.

'I didn't want you to find me, obviously,' Louisa said, sticking her nose in the air and turning away from her sister.

'Maria,' Brigitta pled, looking over to where she lay on top of the blankets. 'Please tell Louisa to come out and play properly.'

'What are you playing?'

'Hide and seek, of course!' Louisa exclaimed.

'But you don't like hide and seek,' Maria stated. Louisa nodded.

'I know that, and _you _know that,' she said, eyes wide, 'but _Brigitta_ doesn't seem to understand that I. Don't. Want. To. Play!' She finished her sentence with a '_humph'_.

'You said we should,' cried Brigitta. 'You said that we should play hide and seek because it would keep us from getting bored while Maria couldn't give us things to do!'

'But I didn't want to play,' Louisa said, sounding worn. 'I just wanted you to play so you could leave me alone and I could come up and visit….' She trailed off. Maria smiled; Louisa wasn't one to admit her affection. 'Anyway, I don't want to play!'

'Well, don't play,' Maria said simply. Brigitta looked at her, mouth hanging open. 'She doesn't have to play if she doesn't want to, Brigitta. Would you go picking berries if everyone else was?'

'No,' Brigitta said, 'I'd stay home and read. I detest picking berries!'

'See,' said Maria. 'Now, don't you think you should let Louisa alone?'

Brigitta sighed. 'I guess so.' Louisa stuck out her tongue and marched from the room, nose still held high. Brigitta followed her and went to close the door behind her. Before she did, however, she stuck her head back around and cried, 'Feeling better?'

'Oh, much,' Maria said, smirking.

*

By the time the Captain was heard coming home, Maria was feeling absolutely miserable. Her head felt as though with was swollen and full of fluid, and her nose wouldn't stop dripping. It wasn't like her at all to get sick; she was always too busy tending to other people to concentrate on herself. Although she couldn't possibly _enjoy _being ill, the rest she was getting was condolence enough for her. She sneezed loudly and wiped her nose with her handkerchief.

There was another tap on the door. She called, "come in!" and Captain Von Trapp entered, dressed in a dark blue suit and looking extremely handsome. Maria patted down her hair and sat up a little straighter in the bed. She had no idea why, but she was embarrassed to be seen looking so helpless.

Georg cleared his throat and strode briskly to the foot of her bed. He watched her for a moment, stone-faced, but as she sniffled pitifully, his expression softened.

"Leisl told me you haven't been well," he said quietly.

"Not in the least," Maria admitted.

"I just had to come check on you," said Georg, and Maria was surprised to see him looking very awkward. Normally, he was so in control and composed. But now, he was shifting his weight and looking around the room, avoiding making eye contact. She figured it was just as much an uncomfortable situation for him as it was for her. She smirked faintly.

"Thank you so much," she replied sincerely.

"Are you feeling any better?" he questioned, laying a hand on her bedrail. She shuddered as he moved closer to her, her entire body tingling in a strange, unknown manner. Maria tended to feel differently when he was around, especially when it was just the two of them.

"A bit," said Maria with a sniff. "I think a good night's sleep is going to do me wonders. I should be up and about tomorrow, at least."

He stood awkwardly for another moment. "I'm glad. Well, I'll leave you to rest. Feel better," he said, and was gone. Another strange thing about being around the Capitan; as much as Maria felt unsure about being around him, the moment he left, she wished he hadn't. The man was making her feel all kinds of new feelings, and she liked all of them.

But lying in bed with the flu certainly wasn't a time to ponder feelings. It was a time to rest, sleep and feel miserable, to wish to be better and to prepare one's self for a day of faking well-being. Maria sighed heavily and wished that she could take the rest of the week to lie where she was. But, alas, she had a job to do. She closed her eyes and it took her a while to drift off again. She was still tingling from head to toe, and not because she was shivering.

*

The following morning, Maria was surprised to awaken feeling much better than she had the previous day. Her head was much clearer, her nose not nearly as stuffy and her eyes didn't feel like they were swollen closed. She took her time getting out of bed and made it, finally, then got dressed and headed down stairs.

She figured everyone would be awake, lounging around the house somewhere or another, so she checked the living room – it was empty. A little confused, she moved to the kitchen – also empty. She then proceeded to check the dining room, back and front yards and sun room, the ball room and the pantry – none of them turned up a single soul.

Maria decided that she'd check the bedrooms. It was possible that the children had merely slept in. She climbed the stairs and came to the first room, which belonged to Gretl and Marta. She knocked softly on the door and cracked it a smidge, peering inside. Both of the girls were still snuggled in their covers. She went inside and looked down on the two of them. Gretl's eyes flew open and she gazed up at the Maria.

"What ever are you doing still in bed?" Maria questioned, "It's such a beautiful day!"

"I don't feel well," Gretl informed her governess.

"Oh, dear," cooed Maria, placing a hand on Gretl's clammy forehead. "My! You're burning up!" Gretl whimpered. "You just stay right here, alright? I'll go get you a glass of juice and a cool cloth and check on the others."

The little girl nodded and cried out, putting a hand to her head. "It hurts when I nod," she cried.

"I'll be right back!" Maria told her.

As she was going to leave the room, Marta woke up and called out. "Maria!"

"Yes?" Maria called back.

"I don't feel very good," she cried, and then she sneezed. Maria glanced at the ceiling and hurried over to Marta's bedside. She put a hand on the older girl's forehead and gasped.

"You've a fever, too!" she exclaimed. "Oh, heavens above! I'll be right back!"

She hurried from the room, into the kitchen and gathered up two glasses of juice and two cool cloths. She brought them back to Marta and Gretl's room, placed the cloths on each girl's head and a glass of juice on each bedside table.

"Drink up, and I'll be back to check on you in a moment," she informed them, and they obliged, slowly sitting up and drinking their juice. Maria left again and made her way down the hall to the next room, which belonged to Brigitta. She knocked and entered, groaning inaudibly when she saw that she, also, was still in bed.

The little amount of her face that was exposed underneath the covers was extremely pale. Her eyes were open, however, so Maria knew she was awake.

"Good morning, darling," she said quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Morning," Brigitta said breathlessly. "Maria, I don't…"

"Feel well?" Maria finished for her, half exasperated and half amused. "I know. Neither do Kurt, Marta or Gretl. And if my guess is correct, everyone else is sick, too!"

"Maybe you should go check on everyone else," the girl said sweetly. "I just want to get some sleep. I'm okay, otherwise."

"Alright," Maria said, smoothing Brigitta's hair and tucking the covers tighter around her chin. "Just call out if you need anything."

There was no reply; Brigitta had fallen back to sleep in seconds. Maria left the room and closed the door as quietly as she could. She was figuring at this point that the rest of the children would be sick. She went the few paces down the hall and came to Kurt's bedroom. She knocked softly; again, no answer.

"Kurt?" she asked quietly, going inside and approaching his bed. "Kurt, are you well?"

"I don't think so, Maria," he said hoarsely, rolling over to face her. "I'm rather cold, but I know I shouldn't be, and my throat is very sore!"

"Stay bundled up," she commanded. "I'll be back in a moment with some hot tea with honey for you. That should make you feel better."

"Thank you," he croaked, and rolled back over into his blankets.

Maria bustled from the room, feeling very out of breath, and set the kettle to boil. She contemplated going back upstairs to check on the rest, but knew that the water would be hot soon enough. She took a cup and saucer from the cupboard, added a spoonful of tealeaves and a drop of honey to the bottom of the cup. When the kettle whistled, she added the water and stirred the mixture together. Then, she carefully ascended the stairs and went back to Kurt's room. She laid the tea on his bedside table, helped him sit up and propped his back up with pillows.

"Drink this," she instructed him, handing him the little cup, "and be careful not to spill it and burn yourself. I'll be back in a moment."

Maria left Kurt's room again and walked down the hall. She stood outside of Louisa's room and looked skyward. "God, help me," she muttered and knocked on the door. She was bracing herself for this one; Louisa could be rather moody when she was ill. When there was no answer, she went inside to check.

Louisa was the first to be sitting up, but her eyes were unfocused and her face was glistening with perspiration. She sneezed into a handkerchief and groaned.

"Not you, too!" Maria cried, moving to the girl and assessing her symptoms.

"What do you mean?" Louisa asked stuffily.

"All of your siblings are sick, as well," said Maria. "Would you like for me to get you anything?"

Surprisingly, Louisa shook her head gently. "No thank you. I'm fine."

Maria's mouth dropped open slightly in surprise, but she closed it again quickly, not wanting to offend. "How about a cool cloth? You look very warm."

"Well, okay," Louisa said, sneezing again. She looked up at Maria. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, and hurried back down to the kitchen to run some cold water on a cloth. She was very surprised at how obliging Louisa was being. Somewhere inside of her, she wished she could be that way all the time. She scolded herself immediately after thinking it, because that would mean she would have to be _ill_ all the time.

After depositing the cloth and a quick kiss to Louisa's forehead, she proceeded to make her rounds, coming to Fredrich's room next. She repeated the motion of knocking, getting no reply and entering anyway. It was something she normally wouldn't have done, respecting the children's right to deny her entry, but today was a different story.

Fredrich, like the rest, was still lying in bed. He differed, however, by still being asleep. Maria moved closer to him and inspected his face; he appeared to be warm, possibly running a fever, and his face was flushed. She decided to just let him sleep; he would surely call if he needed anything, and of course, she'd be back to check on him later.

Maria continued down the hallway, closing Fredrich's door behind her and moving on to the last one; Leisl's. She was slightly wary about entering this final bedroom. Leisl had made it very clear that she didn't need a governess when Maria had first arrived, and Maria had agreed that they could be 'just friends'. But friends would take care of friends when they were sick, wouldn't they? And just the other day, Leisl had admitted that she _did _need a governess, indeed. Of course, Leisl had taken care of Maria the previous day…She was merely returning the favour.

With this thought backing her resolve, Maria tapped lightly on the door. Leisl answered, "come in", and Maria entered quickly. Leisl was, also, still in bed, though she didn't appear to be quite as ill as the others. She was holding her head in her hand and sniffling.

"Okay, what's the matter?" Maria asked kindly, perching on the edge of Leisl's bed.

Leisl sighed. "I'm awfully dizzy," she informed Maria slowly, "and my head feels like it might explode! Do I have what you had?"

"Yes, a variation of it," Maria said with a hint of a laugh. "As do all your brothers and sisters."

Leisl made to get up, but Maria placed a hand on her shoulder and forced her, gently, back into bed. "I have to get up and check on them!"

"Not at all," Maria exclaimed. "I've got this covered; you need to rest."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm quite capable, I assure you," said Maria and smiled. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"No, no," she said, brushing off the offer of assistance. "You take care of the others; I'm fine by myself."

"Well, settle back into bed," Maria said, helping Leisl get more comfortable. "I'm just outside the door if you need anything."

Leisl smiled faintly. "Thank you. And the only thing I need today," she told Maria, "is someone looking after me."

"So you need a governess, after all!" Maria teased.

"Today, for sure," Leisl said as Maria laughed and left the room.

*

For the rest of the day, Maria bustled about, bringing cool cloths to this one, hot tea to that one, breakfast and lunch to all of them and trying her best to make sure she forgot no one. It was a regular occurrence for Maria to spread herself thin trying to give each of the children equal attention, but she was absolutely exhausted from spending the same amount of time in each child's room, telling them stories and making them laugh if they felt up to it. At the rate she was going, Maria wouldn't have been surprised if she got sick again herself.

It took a full day of recuperation for the children to be up and about, but by the next day they were all back to themselves. Maria was inwardly cursing the twenty-four hour flu, but at least she had gotten hers over with and wasn't ill while taking care of the rest of them. However, she shooed them outside as soon as they were finished eating, assuring them that yes, she would be out later, but she needed a minute to clean herself up. With slight disgust, she realized she hadn't bathed in two days, and it was absolutely necessary to brush her hair.

As soon as she was clean and dressed, she made her way from her upstairs bedroom to the sunny entrance of the house, taking her time to stroll through and look at everything she hadn't the time to look at before. The house was very elegant and grand, but every now and then, one could spot a feminine touch, like a vase of flowers or a painting of a rose garden in a country side. Maria smiled to herself, glad that Capitan Von Trapp had left those memories of his late wife around.

Maria was lost in thoughts from the previous day; the children had needed her so much. It was times like those that she really thanked God for putting her in a place where she was _needed_. And she felt wanted, as well. How wonderful it was to be those two things. All of them lavished her with affection and attention and love. And she returned their feelings; it was true, she loved them all.

But did she love them _all?_ There was one person in the house that didn't appear to need her, let alone want her there. Stone cold and intimidating, Captain Von Trapp was the one cloud in her perfectly clear sky. But there were times…Like when she had been ill and bedridden two days ago…He had come in and checked on her…Because he had wanted to? It didn't seem there had been any other reason for him to do so. If only she could break him, make him love her like the children did, or possibly in another way, it would make her life complete. She knew she could love him back, if only he wasn't so distant and icy…

She started, breaking from her reverie when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Turning around, she saw the very man that had just been on her mind was standing only inches away from her. Maria shuddered slightly, and smiled placidly at him. He returned her smile, genuinely but in a slightly stiff manner.

"Shouldn't you be outside, tending to the children?" he asked sarcastically. "That is your job, is it not?"

"Yes, Captain," Maria said coolly. "I was merely admiring the painting here; it's very beautiful."

"Thank you. I picked it out for S…For the house," he said. Maria raised an eyebrow; had be been about to say his wife's name?

"You have excellent taste, sir," said Maria honestly.

"Only for things of beauty," he said quietly, and his eyes lingered on her face for a moment. She looked away bashfully, wondering why he was acting so different.

"Well, as you said, sir," Maria broke the silence, "I suppose I should go tend to the children. That is my job, after all."

The Capitan visibly shook himself and nodded brusquely. He strode away deeper into the house, and Maria watched him go for a minute. Then, she walked quickly to the door and out into the sunshine to find the children and, like the Capitan had said, do her job. It was, after all, the most wonderful job in the world. And perhaps, if she really tried, some day it would be more than a job. It would be family.

**A/N: ****Well, I hope you enjoyed my first Sound of Music fic! The end was a little bit hard to write; I couldn't find the perfect place to cut it off. But anyway, let me know what you thought! I love reviews!**


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